A Brief History of the Poster

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE POSTER

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE POSTER

1880 - 1895: The Birth of the Lithographic Poster

Lithography was invented in 1798, but for decades it was too slow and expensive for poster production. Most posters continued to be simple wood or metal engravings with little color or design. This all changed around 1880 with Cheret's"3 stone lithographic process," a breakthrough which allowed artists to achieve every color in the rainbow with as little as three stones - usually red, yellow and blue - printed in careful registration.

Cheret's process nevertheless still demanded superb artistry and remarkable craftsmanship. The result was worthwhile - a remarkable intensity of color and texture, with sublime transparencies and nuances impossible in other media (even to this day). The ability to combine word and image in such an attractive and economical format finally allowed the lithographic poster to usher in the modern age of advertising. An extremely gifted artist as well, Cheret ushered in that age by creating more than 1000 postersover a 30 year career.

1880 - 1895: The Birth of the Lithographic Poster

Lithography was invented in 1798, but for decades it was too slow and expensive for poster production. Most posters continued to be simple wood or metal engravings with little color or design. This all changed around 1880 with Cheret's"3 stone lithographic process," a breakthrough which allowed artists to achieve every color in the rainbow with as little as three stones - usually red, yellow and blue - printed in careful registration.

Cheret's process nevertheless still demanded superb artistry and remarkable craftsmanship. The result was worthwhile - a remarkable intensity of color and texture, with sublime transparencies and nuances impossible in other media (even to this day). The ability to combine word and image in such an attractive and economical format finally allowed the lithographic poster to usher in the modern age of advertising. An extremely gifted artist as well, Cheret ushered in that age by creating more than 1000 postersover a 30 year career.

1890 - 1900: The Belle Epoque & Art Nouveau

In 1891,Toulouse-Lautrec's extraordinary first poster, Moulin Rouge, elevated the status of the poster to fine art and touched off a poster craze. During the 1890s, referred to as the Belle Epoque inFrance, poster exhibitions, magazines and dealers proliferated; the pioneering Parisian dealer Sagot listed 2200 different posters in his catalog!

Just three years later,Alphonse Mucha, a Czech working in Paris, created the first masterpiece ofArt Nouveauposter design. Bearing multiple influences including the Pre-Raphaelites, the Arts and Crafts Movement, and Byzantine art - this flowering, ornate style became the major international decorative art movement up until World War I.

Despite cross-pollination, distinctive national styles also became apparent -Dutch posterswere marked by restraint and orderliness; Italian postersby their drama and grand scale;German posters for their directness and medieval influence.

1890 - 1900: The Belle Epoque & Art Nouveau

In 1891,Toulouse-Lautrec's extraordinary first poster, Moulin Rouge, elevated the status of the poster to fine art and touched off a poster craze. During the 1890s, referred to as the Belle Epoque inFrance, poster exhibitions, magazines and dealers proliferated; the pioneering Parisian dealer Sagot listed 2200 different posters in his catalog!

Just three years later,Alphonse Mucha, a Czech working in Paris, created the first masterpiece ofArt Nouveauposter design. Bearing multiple influences including the Pre-Raphaelites, the Arts and Crafts Movement, and Byzantine art - this flowering, ornate style became the major international decorative art movement up until World War I.

Despite cross-pollination, distinctive national styles also became apparent -Dutch posterswere marked by restraint and orderliness; Italian postersby their drama and grand scale;German posters for their directness and medieval influence.

1900 - 1914: The New Century & Early Modernism

By 1900, Art Nouveau had lost much of its dynamism through sheer imitation and repetition. The death of Toulouse-Lautrec in 1901 and the abandonment of poster art by Mucha and Cheret (who both turned to painting) left a void that was filled by a young Italian caricaturist namedLeonetto Cappiello, who arrived in Paris in 1898.

Strongly influenced by Cheretand Toulouse-Lautrec, Cappiello rejected the fussy detail of Art Nouveau. Instead he focused on creating one simple image, often humorous or bizarre, which would immediately capture the viewer's attention and imagination on a busy boulevard. This ability to create a brand identity established Cappiello as the father of modern advertising. His style would dominate Parisian poster art until Cassandre's first Art Decoposter in 1923.

Meanwhile, artists working in Scotland's Glasgow School, Austria's Vienna Secession, and Germany'sDeutscher Werkbund also were transforming Art Nouveau's organic approach. These schools rejected curvilinear ornamentation in favor of a rectilinear and geometric structure based on functionalism.

A key outgrowth of these modernist efforts was theGerman Plakatstil, or Poster Style, which was begun in 1905 by Lucian Bernhard in Berlin and in Munich by Ludwig Hohlwein. Minimalized naturalism and emphasis on flat colors and shapes made their work the next step towards creating an abstract, more modern visual language.

1900 - 1914: The New Century & Early Modernism

By 1900, Art Nouveau had lost much of its dynamism through sheer imitation and repetition. The death of Toulouse-Lautrec in 1901 and the abandonment of poster art by Mucha and Cheret (who both turned to painting) left a void that was filled by a young Italian caricaturist namedLeonetto Cappiello, who arrived in Paris in 1898.

Strongly influenced by Cheretand Toulouse-Lautrec, Cappiello rejected the fussy detail of Art Nouveau. Instead he focused on creating one simple image, often humorous or bizarre, which would immediately capture the viewer's attention and imagination on a busy boulevard. This ability to create a brand identity established Cappiello as the father of modern advertising. His style would dominate Parisian poster art until Cassandre's first Art Decoposter in 1923.

Meanwhile, artists working in Scotland's Glasgow School, Austria's Vienna Secession, and Germany'sDeutscher Werkbund also were transforming Art Nouveau's organic approach. These schools rejected curvilinear ornamentation in favor of a rectilinear and geometric structure based on functionalism.

A key outgrowth of these modernist efforts was theGerman Plakatstil, or Poster Style, which was begun in 1905 by Lucian Bernhard in Berlin and in Munich by Ludwig Hohlwein. Minimalized naturalism and emphasis on flat colors and shapes made their work the next step towards creating an abstract, more modern visual language.

1914 - 1919: World War I & the Bolshevik Revolution

World War I meant a new role for the poster:propaganda. The war ushered in the biggest advertising campaign to date, critical to the wartime communication needs of every combatant: from raising money, recruiting soldiers, and boosting volunteer efforts, to spurring productionand provoking outrage at enemy atrocities. Utilizing contemporary Madison Avenue techniques, America alone produced about 2,500 striking poster designs and approximately 20 million posters - nearly 1 for every 4 citizens - in little more than 2 years.

The lessons of brilliant American advertising inWWI posterswere not lost on theBolsheviks, who turned to poster art to help win their civil war against the Whites. Leninand his followers proved to be the pioneering masters of modern propaganda, and the poster became a weapon of choice throughout the century in both hot and cold wars everywhere.

1914 - 1919: World War I & the Bolshevik Revolution

World War I meant a new role for the poster:propaganda. The war ushered in the biggest advertising campaign to date, critical to the wartime communication needs of every combatant: from raising money, recruiting soldiers, and boosting volunteer efforts, to spurring productionand provoking outrage at enemy atrocities. Utilizing contemporary Madison Avenue techniques, America alone produced about 2,500 striking poster designs and approximately 20 million posters - nearly 1 for every 4 citizens - in little more than 2 years.

The lessons of brilliant American advertising inWWI posterswere not lost on theBolsheviks, who turned to poster art to help win their civil war against the Whites. Leninand his followers proved to be the pioneering masters of modern propaganda, and the poster became a weapon of choice throughout the century in both hot and cold wars everywhere.

1919 - 1938: Between the World Wars: Modernism & Art Deco

After World War I, Art Nouveau's organic inspiration became irrelevant in an increasingly industrial society; the modern art movements Cubism, Futurism, Expressionism, and Dadaism became chief influences. At the same time, the first graphic design courses were launched in France, Germanyand Switzerland, a key moment in the transition from illustration to graphic design in advertising.

This shift was quickly felt in the Soviet Union, where Constructivist art arose to help create the new revolutionary, technological society. The Constructivists developed an "agitational" style of poster composition, marked by strong diagonals, photomontage, and jarring color. The Constructivists' aggressive stance, as seen in the work of El Lissitsky, Rodchenko,Klutsisand the Stenberg Brothers, would have a major impact on Western poster design, primarily through the Bauhausand de Stijl.

By the mid-Twenties, these often disparate modernist approaches would coalesce into a major new international decorative movement calledArt Deco. In this machine age style, power and speed became the primary themes. Shapes were simplified and streamlined, and curved typefaces were replaced by sleek, angular ones that would reflect the jazz age. Ever eclectic, strains of Art Deco would also manage to incorporate the exoticarts of Persia, Egypt and Africa.

The term Art Deco is derived from the "Decorative Arts" Exposition of 1925 in Paris, which proved to be a spectacular showcase for the style. In Paris, the caricature style of Cappiellogave way to the geometric, intellectual images of A.M. Cassandre, who popularized air brush techniques that lent a machine-like surface to his images. His towering posters of the Normandie, Statendam and Atlantique ocean liners became icons of the Industrial Age. Art Deco, like Art Nouveau before it, spread quickly throughout Europe and to the U.S.

1919 - 1938: Between the World Wars: Modernism & Art Deco

After World War I, Art Nouveau's organic inspiration became irrelevant in an increasingly industrial society; the modern art movements Cubism, Futurism, Expressionism, and Dadaism became chief influences. At the same time, the first graphic design courses were launched in France, Germanyand Switzerland, a key moment in the transition from illustration to graphic design in advertising.

This shift was quickly felt in the Soviet Union, where Constructivist art arose to help create the new revolutionary, technological society. The Constructivists developed an "agitational" style of poster composition, marked by strong diagonals, photomontage, and jarring color. The Constructivists' aggressive stance, as seen in the work of El Lissitsky, Rodchenko,Klutsisand the Stenberg Brothers, would have a major impact on Western poster design, primarily through the Bauhausand de Stijl.

By the mid-Twenties, these often disparate modernist approaches would coalesce into a major new international decorative movement calledArt Deco. In this machine age style, power and speed became the primary themes. Shapes were simplified and streamlined, and curved typefaces were replaced by sleek, angular ones that would reflect the jazz age. Ever eclectic, strains of Art Deco would also manage to incorporate the exoticarts of Persia, Egypt and Africa.

The term Art Deco is derived from the "Decorative Arts" Exposition of 1925 in Paris, which proved to be a spectacular showcase for the style. In Paris, the caricature style of Cappiellogave way to the geometric, intellectual images of A.M. Cassandre, who popularized air brush techniques that lent a machine-like surface to his images. His towering posters of the Normandie, Statendam and Atlantique ocean liners became icons of the Industrial Age. Art Deco, like Art Nouveau before it, spread quickly throughout Europe and to the U.S.

1938 - 1950: World War II & the End of Stone Lithography

The poster again played a large communication role in World War II, but this time it shared the spotlight with other media, particularly radioand print. By this time, most posters were printed using the mass production technique of photo offset, which resulted in the familiar dot pattern seen in newspapers and magazines. The use of photography in posters, begun in the Soviet Union in the Twenties, now became as common as illustration. After the war, the poster declined further in most countries as television became an additional competitor.

The last gasp of the lithographic poster occurred in Switzerland, where the government heavily promoted the printing industry and poster excellence. Appealing to the Swiss sense of precision, the Sachplakat, orObject Poster Style, developed in the Twenties but blossomed during WWII and the early Fifties in the Basel area. Its artists delighted in making everyday objects into giant icons, utilizing spectacular Swiss printing to create wonderful trompe l'oeil effects. With roots going back to the Plakatstilof Lucian Bernhard and the Surrealist movement, visual elegance was often matched by gentle humor.

1938 - 1950: World War II & the End of Stone Lithography

The poster again played a large communication role in World War II, but this time it shared the spotlight with other media, particularly radioand print. By this time, most posters were printed using the mass production technique of photo offset, which resulted in the familiar dot pattern seen in newspapers and magazines. The use of photography in posters, begun in the Soviet Union in the Twenties, now became as common as illustration. After the war, the poster declined further in most countries as television became an additional competitor.

The last gasp of the lithographic poster occurred in Switzerland, where the government heavily promoted the printing industry and poster excellence. Appealing to the Swiss sense of precision, the Sachplakat, orObject Poster Style, developed in the Twenties but blossomed during WWII and the early Fifties in the Basel area. Its artists delighted in making everyday objects into giant icons, utilizing spectacular Swiss printing to create wonderful trompe l'oeil effects. With roots going back to the Plakatstilof Lucian Bernhard and the Surrealist movement, visual elegance was often matched by gentle humor.

1945 - 1965: Post-World War II & Mid-Century Modernism

Despite the looming tensions of the Cold War, the end of World War II ushered in a baby boom and a new consumer society with the arrival of television, jet travel and global brands fueling the way.

Advertising methods shifted to adapt to the times. A veritable "poster boom" occurred in the early 1950s, driving forward two distinct styles, one consumer and one corporate. The first, which we have labeled the '50s Style, was brightly colored and whimsical, while the second, called the International Typographic Style, was more rational and orderly.

TheInternational Typographic Style, or Swiss Style, was also perfectly suited to the increasingly globally connected world. Highly structured, systematic designs granted order and clarity to everything from highways and airports to product instruction manuals.

Influenced by the Bauhaus and Tshichhold's New Typography, this style developed in Switzerland in the late '50s and '60s. It employed basic typographic elements with strict graphic rules and often replaced illustration with stark, "modern" photography. The concert posters of Josef Muller-Brockmannrepresent the classical apotheosis of this style - cool, elegant and systematically abstract. On the same level was Erik Nitsche's "Atoms for Peace" series of spectacular posters for the first International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy.

1945 - 1965: Post-World War II & Mid-Century Modernism

Despite the looming tensions of the Cold War, the end of World War II ushered in a baby boom and a new consumer society with the arrival of television, jet travel and global brands fueling the way.

Advertising methods shifted to adapt to the times. A veritable "poster boom" occurred in the early 1950s, driving forward two distinct styles, one consumer and one corporate. The first, which we have labeled the '50s Style, was brightly colored and whimsical, while the second, called the International Typographic Style, was more rational and orderly.

TheInternational Typographic Style, or Swiss Style, was also perfectly suited to the increasingly globally connected world. Highly structured, systematic designs granted order and clarity to everything from highways and airports to product instruction manuals.

Influenced by the Bauhaus and Tshichhold's New Typography, this style developed in Switzerland in the late '50s and '60s. It employed basic typographic elements with strict graphic rules and often replaced illustration with stark, "modern" photography. The concert posters of Josef Muller-Brockmannrepresent the classical apotheosis of this style - cool, elegant and systematically abstract. On the same level was Erik Nitsche's "Atoms for Peace" series of spectacular posters for the first International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy.

1965 - 1972: The Sixties & the Art of Rebellion

The orderliness of the Fifties would yield to a more chaotic and revolutionary tenor by the mid-Sixties. A new illustration style, one which borrowed freely from Surrealism, Pop Art and Expressionism, was more relaxed and intuitive and the first wave of a Post-Modernist sensibility. A famous example was Milton Glaser's 1967 Bob Dylan record album insert. Glaser crystallized the musician's counter-cultural message by portraying his long hair as a rainbow of richly flowing waves. Glaser's Push Pin Studio was matched in creativity by a dynamic school of poster art in Polandfrom the '50s through the '80s. The Polish School became known for a sardonic and gut wrenching variety of Surrealism in promoting the State-controlled theatre and cultural organizations.

The excesses of the drug culture and political alienation led to a brief but spectacularPsychedelicPoster craze in the U.S., which recalled the floral excesses of Art Nouveau, the pulsating afterimages of Op-Art, and the bizarre juxtapositions of Surrealism. And the French May Day protests generated a school of propaganda poster that harked back to the Sovietposter and cartoon art.

1965 - 1972: The Sixties & the Art of Rebellion

The orderliness of the Fifties would yield to a more chaotic and revolutionary tenor by the mid-Sixties. A new illustration style, one which borrowed freely from Surrealism, Pop Art and Expressionism, was more relaxed and intuitive and the first wave of a Post-Modernist sensibility. A famous example was Milton Glaser's 1967 Bob Dylan record album insert. Glaser crystallized the musician's counter-cultural message by portraying his long hair as a rainbow of richly flowing waves. Glaser's Push Pin Studio was matched in creativity by a dynamic school of poster art in Polandfrom the '50s through the '80s. The Polish School became known for a sardonic and gut wrenching variety of Surrealism in promoting the State-controlled theatre and cultural organizations.

The excesses of the drug culture and political alienation led to a brief but spectacularPsychedelicPoster craze in the U.S., which recalled the floral excesses of Art Nouveau, the pulsating afterimages of Op-Art, and the bizarre juxtapositions of Surrealism. And the French May Day protests generated a school of propaganda poster that harked back to the Sovietposter and cartoon art.

1970 - 1989: The Seventies & Eighties - Post Modernism

The International Style spread beyond Switzerland rapidly and became the leading graphic design style worldwide in the Seventies. By the early Eighties, the style began to give way to the Post Modernists, who sought to break the formal and dogmatic rules of the Swiss Style.

A young teacher in Basel namedWolfgang Weingartled the palace revolt which ushered in today's predominant graphic style loosely known as Post Modern design. Weingart experimented with the offset printing process to produce posters that appeared complex and chaotic, playful and spontaneous - all in stark contrast to his elders' teachings. Weingart's liberation of typography was an important foundation for several new styles, from Memphis and Retro, to the advances now being made in computer graphics.

1970 - 1989: The Seventies & Eighties - Post Modernism

The International Style spread beyond Switzerland rapidly and became the leading graphic design style worldwide in the Seventies. By the early Eighties, the style began to give way to the Post Modernists, who sought to break the formal and dogmatic rules of the Swiss Style.

A young teacher in Basel namedWolfgang Weingartled the palace revolt which ushered in today's predominant graphic style loosely known as Post Modern design. Weingart experimented with the offset printing process to produce posters that appeared complex and chaotic, playful and spontaneous - all in stark contrast to his elders' teachings. Weingart's liberation of typography was an important foundation for several new styles, from Memphis and Retro, to the advances now being made in computer graphics.

1990 on: The Poster Today

The role and appearance of the poster has changed continuously over the past century to meet the changing needs of society. Although its role is less central than it was 100 years ago, the poster will evolve further as the computer and the worldwide web revolutionize the way we communicate in the 21st century.

1990 on: The Poster Today

The role and appearance of the poster has changed continuously over the past century to meet the changing needs of society. Although its role is less central than it was 100 years ago, the poster will evolve further as the computer and the worldwide web revolutionize the way we communicate in the 21st century.